Under Pressure
by Annastesia LaFayette
Summary: The Enterprise is threatened by a black hole. Archer and Trip's friendship becomes strained over a woman. Will the ship survive? Will it come to blows between the two friends? Will friendship survive? **Warning. Graphic sexual context. Language. Mature Audience. (Prequel of 'Two Weddings And A Cure')


**Under Pressure**

**Chapter 1**

Captain Archer sat in his chair on the bridge tenderly rubbing at his neck and shoulder. The place on his body had been hurting for the past two weeks now, but he wasn't exactly sure why. When the pain first started he dismissed it as he had slept wrong, but he hasn't been sleeping very well for over two months and was now starting to wonder if there might be a larger problem.

The ship and her crew had been in this region of space for the past six months, other than long range images taken by the Vulcans, the area was unexplored. Other than a class two nebula, there wasn't anything exciting going on around here and the crew was growing bored and restless.

He looked slowly around the bridge and noticed Malcom lazily pressing some buttons on the panel at his station. Trip at his station was looking for something, _anything_ he could modify to keep him busy. Hoshi was listening intensity to her communication channels for any sign of lifeforms nearby. Then he landed his eyes on T'Pol, who was bent over looking through the viewing device at her station. Jon shifted uncomfortably in his chair as he knew deep down, she was the main reason for his sleepless nights.

His mind began to wander as he fantasized about walking across the bridge to caress her beautiful ass. He fantasized about kissing her lips, tasting their sweetness before pulling her to the floor and taking her right there.

Suddenly Travis' voice broke him out of his fantasy. "Captain. My sensors are showing a planet half a light year from here. Should we check it out?" The young ensign's voice sounded excited that there might finally be some action. As Archer turned his head to look at him, his neck gave him a sharp shot of pain, making him wince. "Any sign of humanoid life, T'Pol?" Jon asked with the pain coming through in his voice.

She checked her scanner, then shook her head. "Long range sensors don't show any sign of humanoid life nor signs of building structures." Jon thought about this for a moment, then turned towards Travis. "Go ahead and bring us in orbit of the planet, ensign. Maybe there's something there that long range isn't picking up." "Aye, sir." Travis happily replied as he set course to the planet.

After orbiting the planet for a few hours, they discovered two things: it was indeed uninhibited and the atmosphere was too toxic to send a landing party. Disappointment once again set in among the bridge crew as the captain ordered Travis to move along. It was now end of his shift and Jon's neck and shoulder felt as if someone tried to tie it into a pretzel and decided a visit to sickbay was in order.

"This is the fifth time you've been to sickbay this week, Captain. You should be getting better by now." Phlox said. "Well I'm not. In fact it's worse. I can barely move and it's keeping up at night. Do you think I pinched a nerve? Tore a ligament?" Jon asked. "According to all of my scans, there's nothing wrong with you. Perhaps the pain you're experiencing isn't physical, Captain." Jon didn't like what Phlox was implying. "You think it's all in my head? You think I'm making this up? I'm _not!_ I'm really hurting here! Just give me an injection so I can get some sleep... Please!"

Phlox shook his head. "I didn't say that, just that my scans aren't showing any physical reason for your discomfort. I'm sorry Captain, I've already given you more than the maximum dosage, and I can't give you any more pain medication. Perhaps you should try heat and ice." Jon's voice raised a couple levels. "I've been doing that! It's not helping!" "I'm sorry Captain, I don't know what else to tell you. "Fine! Maybe I'll just get stinking drunk to get rid of this pain! Would that be better!? Thanks for nothing, doc!" Jon said as he stormed out the door.

In his quarters he was still upset that Phlox didn't help him to relieve the pain and went to the cabinet to get the bottle of scotch he kept there. As he reached for it, a pain shot down his arm. _Wrong hand you idiot!_ He scolded himself before reaching with the other. As he uncorked the bottle a voice inside questioned him. _You're angry, in pain, tired and simply bored. Is drinking really a good idea right now?_ Somewhere deep inside he knew the answer and put the bottle back on its shelf.

After a long hot shower, hoping it might relax his muscles, he decided he'd try to get some sleep. He was asleep when he suddenly felt a body from behind pressing against his. A hand was now moving across his chest and slowly down his stomach before reaching its destination to his groin. He felt the hand stroking at him with both gentle and strong touches. _God this feels good_ he thought.

He rolled over to look at the beautiful woman sharing his bed and smiled. Without questioning as to her presence in his bed, he began placing soft kisses on her lips and down her neck then he focused on her ears. She had such lovely ears and he'd waited so long to caress those ears.

As his tongue and lips gently mapped out the shape of her ear, from the bottom of the lobe to the top of the pointed tip, he rolled onto her and drove himself deep inside of her. His excitement growing stronger as he felt her hot breath in his ear and her nails biting into the flesh of his back driving and urging him deeper and faster. Her legs wrapping around his, their bodies intertwined in lustful bliss as the pressure released.

**Chapter 2**

His eyes snapped open and he reached his hand across the bed to find he was alone except, for Porthos who was laying at his feet. In his haze he realized it was all a dream.

Suddenly he felt a strange sensation under the blanket that he hadn't felt since he was a teenager and pulled it back to look. _You've got to be kidding me!_ He thought to himself as he saw the noticeable sticky wet spot, then jerked the blanket off of him and sat up.

Porthos gave him a disapproving grunt, upset that his slumber had been disrupted. "Oh shut up." Jon snapped. "At least you don't have these problems." Porthos wasn't sure what he was supposed to do so, he laid his head down in a huff and went back to sleep.

After cleaning himself up, Jon pulled on a pair of jogging pants and a tee shirt deciding he'd go for a walk around the ship, taking his PADD along for some reading, in hopes that it would tire him out enough to sleep.

He hadn't noticed that his walk lead him to the crew mess hall, but since he was here he decided he'd get a glass of warm milk. As he placed a glass into the drink dispenser, he pressed a button on the computer's control panel, "Milk. Warm." He looked around and saw T'Pol sitting at one of the tables reading from her PADD and drinking something from a mug.

It wasn't unusual for T'Pol to while the night away in the mess hall alone, since Vulcans don't require as much sleep as humans. He thought about sitting somewhere else so he wouldn't disturb her, or _be_ distributed by her, but then thought she might find it rude if he didn't at least ask to sit with her.

He grabbed his glass from the dispenser, walked over to the table and asked if he could sit with her. To his surprise she agreed to have him sit. "Having a cup of tea?" He asked, trying to make conversation. "Yes. Chamomile." She replied without looking up from her PADD. "What are you reading?" In another attempt for conversation. "An updated study of the effects of the Vulcan brain functions and higher reasoning patterns when exposed to long term deep space travel." She replied. "Sounds like a real page turner. Maybe I should read it. It might help me sleep." "You wouldn't understand it." "Are you saying I'm not intelligent enough to understand a medical study?" "No. I didn't say that. You wouldn't understand it simply because it's written in Vulcan." "Oh. Yeah. I guess that would be a problem."

Jon took a sip of his milk _Ugh! Disgusting!_ He thought to himself. He wasn't fond of cold milk to begin with and he hated warm milk. The only reason he ordered it was because when he was a child and couldn't sleep, his father would make him drink warm milk. _I'm a grown man and captain of a starship now, dad. If I don't want to drink warm milk I don't have to. So there._ And he mentally stuck out his tongue at the ghost that was his father then traded his milk for a cup of coffee.

As he sat back down he turned in a way that his neck and shoulder gave him a shot of pain that made him gasp a little. During the time that he sat reading his PADD and sipping his coffee there were multiple times his pain got to him. After this last time of his silent complaining, T'Pol looked up from her PADD, raising an eyebrow at him.

Without saying a word, she got up and moved around the table to stand behind Jon. She placed her hands on either side of his neck and began to massage his shoulders. "T'Pol? What are you doing?" "Just relax, Captain." He wanted to protest and tell her that this was inappropriate, but they were alone in the room and it did feel good, so he allowed her to continue.

His mind started to wander to a more seductive place, but before it could wander too far, he felt her taking his arm in one hand and maneuvering it into a ninety degree angle, and with the other hand, she placed it on his shoulder at the base of his neck. With her thumb she pressed hard on a nerve then suddenly he felt and heard a large _POP._ T'Pol released his arm, went around the table back to her seat and sat down.

Jon felt a momentary warm sensation in his arm, then began to move his shoulder in a small circular motion. It felt so much better! _Are you serious?_ He thought. _All this time and pain and all I needed was my shoulder popped?_ "Thank you so much, T'Pol. That feels great. Maybe you should be a massage therapist. Thanks." "No need to thank me, Captain. It was really for a selfish reason." Jon was surprised that she had admitted to doing something out of selfishness. "Oh?" He questioned. "I've watched you for the past two weeks wincing and whimpering from the discomfort. Quite frankly, it was starting to annoy me." He was a little amused at her statement but decided to let it pass.

A couple hours and cups of coffee later, Jon was studying the star charts of the area they were now in when something about it was bothering him. As he checked and compared one page to the other he saw it. "T'Pol. Take a look at this." He handed his PADD to her. She crinkled her brows not sure what she was supposed to see.

"Here." He pointed to a section of the star grouping. "See that void there? Compare it to the long range images taken by the Vulcans over twenty years ago. Aren't there supposed to be stars there?" "You're right, Captain. There should be stars there." She said as she did her own comparisons. "Think it might be something worth investigating?" He asked. She agreed it was worth the time to investigate and this gave Jon a glimmer of excitement that there was something to break up the boredom and monotony.

As he put his coffee mug in the area designated for dirty dishes he looked over at T'Pol still sitting at the table reading from her PADD. His mind began to wander again.

He had put his mug away and walked over to the table. Cradling her face in his hand as he traced out the line of her lower lip with his thumb. He leaned down to kiss her and she didn't resist, returning his lustful kiss. With his hands he encouraged her to stand, cupping and gently stroking her breast. As their bodies pressed harder together she returned his lust with her own. He guided her down onto the table as she moaned in passionate excitement, her body writhing against his adding to his own excitement. His mind started to wander to a different place and began wondering if Vulcans even moaned or writhed with passion.

His fantasy slowly beginning to fade as he suddenly became aware of what his body was doing. Looking down he saw the noticeable bulge protruding from the crotch of his pants. He quickly lowered his PADD to cover his embarrassing situation and spun around to the food cubicles pretending to look for something to eat. He snuck a peek over his shoulder to see that T'Pol was still reading her PADD and hadn't noticed what had happened.

Relieved, he turned his attention back to the food cubicles, giving time for his problem to resolve itself when he spotted it. _Could it possibly be?_ He asked himself. Right before his eyes was a nice slice of pecan pie! Chef didn't make pecan pie very often, and when he did, the crew flocked to the galley in the hopes they might be lucky enough to snag a piece.

Some of the crew had at one time or another attempted to bribe chef to save a piece for them, but chef would have no part of their bribery. Even the captain had to fend for himself to get a piece of this precious commodity.

He looked at the other cubicles and realized this was the only piece. _Last piece? How lucky am I?_ He thought, as another thought occurred to him. _Trip is crazy for pecan pie. I could save it for him. Hell with him! I feel like being a selfish bastard today._ He grabbed the pie and a fork then hurried out of the galley to go back to his quarters.

As he walked the halls he quickly ate at the pie, sheltering it from anyone passing by, even though he knew none of the crew would _dare _try to take food from the captain, he wasn't going to take any chances. He entered his quarters as he put the last bite of the treat in his mouth.

Porthos had moved to his dog bed at some point in Jon's absence and looked up at him with a curiosity as to where his human had been for so long. As Jon put the now empty plate on his desk, he pressed a button on the comm panel to ask the computer the time. The computer's flat voice replied "The time is Oh four forty eight." _No since in trying to sleep now. May as well get ready for shift_ he thought.

**Chapter 3**

As Jon felt the warm water of the shower beat down on him, he was still amazed at how much better his shoulder felt. Unfortunately now that his neck and shoulder felt better, the rest of his back was starting to ask for attention. He thought about asking T'Pol if she wouldn't mind helping with that as well, but knew it wouldn't be appropriate.

He wished she was there in the shower with him, massaging his back...among other things. He turned to face the wall and with a stiff arm, placed a hand on the wall to brace himself. As the warm water continued to pound at his back, he thought about how wonderful her hands would feel on him and began fantasizing about her being in the shower with him.

She was rubbing his back in a deep massage, then slowly moving her hands down his back until she was cupping and caressing his buttocks. Her hands slid around his waist to the front of him, one hand moving up to his stomach and chest, the other stroking at his excitement.

Outside of his fantasy, with his free hand he had reached down and began drawing long, slow strokes at himself as his fantasy continued to play out in his mind.

He turned towards her, leaning down to kiss her, his hands felt the softness of her wet body as he continued his soft, passionate kisses. His hands cupping her breast as his fingers gave small sensual twists of her nipples. He slid a hand down her, between her thighs and plunged his fingers deep into her warm wetness.

Slowly going down to his knees, placing small kisses on her soft, warm body on his way down he buried his face between her milky thighs. His tongue lapping at her sweet nectar, enjoying the taste of her as she placed a hand on his head, pushing him into her.

As he stood back up, he lifted her, holding her against him and pulling her legs to wrap around his waist while running his hands against her silky thighs. He pressed her against the shower wall and deeply entered her sweet, warm nether. As he laid small kisses on her neck he whispered in her ear "I love you T'Pol. I've always loved you." Her hands running along his back as her nails dragged against his flesh "I love you too. I've waited so long for this. Don't stop. Don't ever stop."

Feeling his sweet release, he opened his eyes and rolled his head back "Ah-haaa!" His fantasy over, panting hard, he turned his back against the wall and slid down to the floor, pulling his knees up to his chest, he buried his face into them and began sobbing.

_What are you doing?_ He scolded himself. _You're the captain, she's your first officer. Oh God! She's your best friend's girl! How could you think about her like this? You're an ass._ Then he tried reasoning with himself. _Trip doesn't need to know what goes on in my head. My thoughts, my dreams, my fantasies. My business, right? Trip doesn't need to know. I could learn to love her from afar. Can't I?_ He sat there for several minutes as his brain continued to battle it out before finishing his shower without further incident.

He walked Porthos to the arboretum and watched as Porthos walked around the patch of grass that grew there, designated as his place to do his business, when Jon suddenly caught a whiff of the scent of chamomile. _Chamomile? That doesn't grow here._ He thought to himself. He turned to look and found T'Pol standing behind him. "Commander? Is there something I can do for you?" "Yes Captain, there is." Before he knew it, or stop her, T'Pol reached up and gave him a passionate kiss.

Jon placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back. "What are you doing commander? This is completely inappropriate, not to mention out of character for you." "Don't you find me attractive?" T'Pol's voice sounding wounded. "Y-yes. Of course I do. But...but what about Trip?" "Trip is too emotional. He's a child. I need someone more disciplined, more mature. I need _you_." "T'Pol. Not only are these actions inappropriate, but... here?" T'Pol looked around "I don't see anyone else here. Do you?"

Before he could answer T'Pol reinitiated her advances, slipping her hand under his shirt, standing on her toes to kiss him lustfully and Jon could no longer resist. _I'm going to burn in hell for this. I guess it'll be worth it._ He thought to himself as he pulled her to the floor.

They both pulled feverishly and passionately at one another's clothes desperate for more skin on skin contact when Jon suddenly heard a strong voice. _"WHAT THE FUCK!?"_ Jon looked up and saw Trip standing over them, fuming. As Jon scrambled to his feet, zipping up his pants he started stammering. "TRIP! I-I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean-" before he could finish he felt the hard punch of Trip's fist making contact with his mouth, causing Jon to stumble backwards.

Jon's eyes snapped open. He could feel the water of the shower beating down on him. The water had grown cold and he realized he had fallen asleep on the shower floor and the arboretum, T'Pol, Trip, and the punch. It was all a dream.

**Chapter 4**

As the ship headed towards the void Jon had discovered, he desperately tried to push the thoughts of his shower adventures out of his mind. He deliberately avoided making eye contact with T'Pol or Trip, keeping focused on the task at hand when he heard T'Pol calling "Ensign Mayweather. All stop!" Her voice sounded urgent. "Aye, commander. All stop." Travis replied.

Jon knew something was wrong for T'Pol to give such an order without checking with him first. "T'Pol?" "The void, sir. My sensors are showing that it's a black hole. If we get any closer, we could get caught in its gravity pull."

Jon considered this piece of information for a moment. "Travis, keep a close watch on your screens. I want us close enough to take readings, but make sure you keep the ship out of danger." "Yes sir. Understood." Travis replied as he tapped at the buttons on his navigational panel.

Then a thought came to Jon. Many species have charted black holes. Their size, gravity pulls, general make up compensation, but had anyone ever gotten readings of what was _inside_ a black hole? He presented this question to his science officer. "No, Captain. No one has ever been able to discover what is actually inside a black hole. The gravity pull is too strong, it would tear apart any probe before it could even reach the center." T'Pol replied.

Jon grinned at this then said. "Well then, maybe we could be the first. Everyone, listen up. Start thinking of solutions to get around the gravity issue and how we might get a probe inside. I don't care if we only get a few seconds of readings, just a glimpse of what might be going on in the center of a black hole would be phenomenal. A real feather in the cap for humanity, so to speak. We'll reconvene in the situation room in one hour. I want to hear ideas people!" The bridge was a chorus of "aye sirs" as Jon headed to his ready room to think of his own solutions.

In the situation room the crew was gathered, all giving their ideas while others argued points as to why an idea would or wouldn't work.

Jon was concentrating so hard on not thinking about T'Pol or his fantasies of her that the voices of his crew seemed distant when he heard his chief engineer asking "What do you think, Cap'n?" Jon looked up and felt a pain in his shoulder and neck. _Damn! It's back. Shouldn't have fallen asleep in the shower. _He thought. "Hmm? I'm sorry, Trip. What was that?" "If we modify a torpedo, added scanning sensors and placed Malcolm's experimental shield generators on it. We might be able to get the torpedo close enough for the scanners to get a peek inside the hole."

He looked around and the rest of the crew seemed to agree with Trip's plan. "How long will it take to make the modifications?" Jon asked. "Two...three hours, tops." "Alright. Let's get at it then." With that, the senior staff began to exit the room as T'Pol lingered behind.

As the last of the crew left the room, she gently grabbed Jon by the arm. "Has your discomfort returned?" "You noticed that, huh?" "Yes. Come to my quarters tonight, twenty-one thirty." Before he could say anything, she left. _Did that really just happen or am I dreaming again?_ Jon reached down and pinched his own arm. "Ouch! Ok. Guess I'm not dreaming." He said to the empty room.

As he took his place on the bridge, Captain Archer was pleased that his ship was a buzz with activity again. There was a new energy, new electricity running through her as the crew now had an important mission to complete. He looked around the bridge, as the modified torpedo had been launched.

Travis was keeping a close watch on his sensors to ensure the ship didn't get caught up in the hole's gravity pull. Malcom, with his task complete, watched the main screen in anticipation of a possible explosion when the torpedo would succumb to the pull of the gravity. Trip's hands danced across his panel as he continued his readings on the effects of his invention as it was being sucked in by the black hole. Hoshi listened for...well, _anything_ and T'Pol alternated her attention between her viewer and her instrument panel collecting the data the new probe was sending back to the ship.

Everyone was surprised when the probe survived longer than expected and the readings retrieved was more than they hoped for. Malcom was the only one disappointed, as he never got to see the explosion he'd hoped for.

The initial readings they had retrieved told them that the black hole had formed only in the past five years and had expanded to a size that devoured a small solar system. The hole was still expanding, but at a very slow rate, and T'Pol believed it would stop its expansion within the next ten years and not be a threat to any nearby planets or solar systems. The readings they got from inside the hole was more complex and would take several days to decipher it all.

It was now dinner time as Archer and Trip sat in the captain's dining room. Trip was going on about his new probe invention, but Jon's mind was elsewhere and he wasn't paying any attention to what Trip was saying when he felt Trip's hand on his shoulder breaking him out of his thoughts.

"You ok, Cap'n? You seem awfully quiet tonight." "Yeah. I'm fine. I'm sorry, what were you saying?" Jon asked him. "I was asking about T'Pol. She didn't join us for dinner." "Oh. I don't know. She was invited as always." "Guess she has a new toy to play with, getting her data analysis and all." "I guess, Trip. Maybe that's it. I don't know." Trip eyed him for a moment before asking "Are you sure everything's ok? You seem distracted tonight."

Jon swallowed hard. He had to tell Trip as the battle his mind had been doing all day was becoming overwhelming. "Trip, there's something I need to tell you. You know I've been having this pain in my neck and T'Pol asked me to stop by her quarters later tonight to help me with it." "Oh yeah, Cap'n. Those Vulcan neuro pressure treatments are great! You're gonna love it. Hell, I still get T'Pol to do my back whenever I've been hunched over the engine all day. It'll help you sleep too." "I don't know, Trip. It seems kind of wrong for me to be in her quarters that late. Maybe you could be there with us?"

Jon was getting more uncomfortable with the conversation with his friend. "Sorry, Cap'n. Got a lot of work to do. Besides, it's just neuro pressure, it's not like you're gonna try to sleep with her or anything. Right?" Jon swallowed again. "No! Of course not! It's just...well. I know it's none of my business but I figured you might not like it if there was a man alone in her quarters that late." "Why would I care if T'Pol has a man in her quarters?" "Well, aren't you and T'Pol...?"

Trip gave a heavy sigh. He had grown tired of people sticking their noses in his private life, especially where T'Pol was concerned. "Look, Cap'n. The thing with me and T'Pol happened. It was what it was and now it's not. It's no big deal." "You mean you and T'Pol aren't together anymore?" "No. Why? Does it matter? It's just pressure treatments...isn't it?" "Yeah, Trip. Just pressure treatments. That's all. Nothing more. I just didn't want you to think something else and having it cause a fight between us." "I don't see anything to fight about here. Get your treatment and feel better."

Jon sat for a moment trying to think of a way to change the subject when he flatly stated "I ate the last piece of pecan pie." Trip dropped his fork and it made a clanging sound as it hit the plate. Pointing a finger at Jon he loudly said "Now _that's_ something to fight about!" and the two laughed.

**Chapter 5**

Jon was standing outside of T'Pol's quarters debating with himself if he should go in. _This isn't appropriate. What if it leads to something more than neuro pressure? What if...? Oh shut the hell up! You're going to go in there, get your treatment, feel better, thank her and leave. Nothing more._ He pressed the button on the door control panel then heard T'Pol's voice come over the intercom. "Come in."

As he stepped inside the door, the lights were dim, a candle was burning and he smelled a pleasant sweet citrus scent. "I'm sorry, I must be early. I didn't know you were meditating. I'll just leave." "You're not early, you're right on time. Why did you think I was meditating?" Jon gestured to the candle. "Oh that." T'Pol explained. "It's not a mediation candle. It's scented from the oils of a flower that grows on Vulcan. Its scent aids in calming and relaxation." "Oh. It smells very nice. I like it."

Jon felt a little awkward and asked. "Uh. I'm not sure how this neuro pressure thing works. What do I do?" "First, you need to relax. You can sit anywhere you'd like. The floor, on the couch or bed. Whatever is comfortable for you."

Jon chose the safest route and sat on the floor. "Ok. What now?" "Take off your shirt." As he took off his shirt and T'Pol added "You should take off your pants as well." "_What_!? I don't think that would be necessary. It's just my neck and shoulder." "Captain, I've observed your discomfort for the past several weeks. It's not just your neck and shoulder. I intend to give you a full treatment. That would require pressure points on your lower back, and possibly legs as well." "Um...ok then." He reluctantly removed his pants and sat back down on the floor. "Lay on your stomach." T'Pol instructed.

As he complied with her request he felt her hands on his shoulders kneading at the muscles. As she moved down his back, pressing on various nerves he began to feel more relaxed and started feeling his pains leaving his body. "I really don't know why I've been hurting so much lately." He said to T'Pol. "Phlox keeps telling me nothing's wrong. He won't even give me pain medication. I don't know. I guess I just slept wrong or something." "There are many reasons a person could experience pain that are not caused by a physical trauma." T'Pol stated. "Oh, so you think it's all in my head too." "I didn't say that. Stress could be one reason. Lack of sleep another."

She pressed her thumb in a place on his lower back that made Jon jump. "_OW!_ That hurt! A lot!" She seemed to ignore his discomfort at her touch. "Tension could also be a factor." She said. "Yeah. Well got news for you. Being a starship captain is full of stress and tension. Guess I'm just doomed to live a life of being twisted in a knot." He said sarcastically. "I'm not referring to the tension of your job, Captain." "What then?" "Sexual tension. When was the last time you mated?"

He had to bite his tongue to keep from asking her if with himself counted. He was getting uncomfortable with this and wanted to get out of this situation. "T'Pol, I don't think that's any of your business. Besides, I highly doubt that sexual tension has anything to do with my pain."

She pressed on the spot at his lower back again. "_Ow!_ Will you stop that! It hurts!" "I was proving my point." She said. "What? What are you talking about?" "There are nerve clusters that can be accessed to relieve one of their...tensions." "Uh-huh. In my back? Sure T'Pol. Whatever you say."

She could tell by his tone that he didn't believe her and pressed hard on the spot again. With her other hand she pressed another spot on the opposite side. He felt a shock of electricity jolting through his groin as he felt the pressure building there.

He began to writhe and moan in a mixture of pain and pleasure. His entire body felt as if it were on fire and he wanted more. He didn't want her to stop, he wanted to be inside her, deep inside and his head was spinning as his pressure was released harder than he'd ever felt before.

He wasn't thinking clearly and wasn't sure if he was really speaking out loud as he heard his shaky voice saying "More. Please more!" T'Pol's voice calm and collected. "There are more intense pressure points I could access, but not tonight. I think you've already had more than you can handle for now." Jon wasn't sure, but he swear he had felt T'Pol kiss him on his back, then it hit him like a rock _Did she say more intense?_

He started to sit up, not sure of how he should react, he quietly asked "Why did you do that?" "Because it's what you needed. Isn't your pain gone now?" He had forgotten the reason he was here, then slowly moved his shoulder and neck around and was shocked. "Yes. It is gone. That's amazing. How...how did you do that?" "As I suspected. Your tension was caused by a...sexual problem. You might want to go clean yourself up now."

Jon looked down and saw the front of his underwear was very wet, and very sticky. He grabbed at his pants and his face was turning bright red. T'Pol seemed to be amused by his embarrassment as she said. "No need to be embarrassed. It was the...expected result."

Jon suddenly stopped pulling on his pants when a thought occurred to him as he asked T'Pol. "Yeah. This sex-pressure point thing is great and all when you have someone there to do it for you, but what about when you don't have anyone? I mean it's not like you Vulcans... Wait. Do Vulcans...masturbate?" His face got red again and he couldn't believe the question actually fell out of his mouth.

T'Pol took a second to suppress her emotions as she was on the verge of busting out in laughter. "Of course Vulcans masturbate. We just don't talk about it." "What about the whole Pon farr thing?" "That's something entirely different. I'll tell you all about it someday. If you're truly interested."

Back in his quarters, Jon had went to bed and slept more soundly than he ever had but his dreams were still of T'Pol only this time in a more romantic nature. He dreamt they were walking along a beach, holding hands as the water splashed at their feet. He dreamt of holding her in his arms, telling her how much he loved her. He dreamt of slowly dancing with her beneath the stars. He dreamt of seeing her walking towards him in a white wedding gown. He dreamt of a life with her at his side.

**Chapter 6**

Jon avoided T'Pol all day but couldn't shake her comment about there being more intense pressure points from his mind and the curiosity of it was getting to him. He had felt guilty about what had happened, how it might affect his friendship with Trip. He reluctantly decided that he needed to find Trip and talk to him about it.

Trip was in the shuttlebay making calibrations to one of the shuttle pods. Jon looked around to make sure they were alone. "Trip. I need to talk to you about something." "Sure. What's up, Cap'n." Jon blew out a breath before he continued. "It's pretty serious. I don't think you're going to like it, but...uh...something kind of happened." "What? Something wrong with the modified torpedo yesterday?"

Jon shifted uncomfortably. "No. I meant... last night." He lowered his head and looked down at the floor. "I mean with T'Pol." Trip sank down and was now sitting on the edge of the shuttle's opened hatch. "You slept with her, didn't you?" "No! No. I didn't! I swear, I didn't!" "What then? What happened?"

Jon let out a heavy sigh. "It's kind of embarrassing. She was giving me one of those neuro pressure treatments and she was doing something to my back, pressing on this place and...well...I don't know...it just happened." "What? What happened?" Jon's face got red. He really didn't want to say it. "I...uh...I..." Trip's eyes grew wide as he started to understand. "Oh! You mean...you uh..." "Yeah." Jon said quietly.

Trip sat for a moment shaking his head. "So, why do you think you should've_ told_ me this?" Jon took a hard swallow "I think I want it to happen again." "Oh fuck, Jon! You...you _can't_! I mean, you just _CAN'T_!" "Trip, I won't if it's going to hurt you too much, but the truth is...I've been thinking about her a lot lately and if the two of you are truly over..." Jon could see Trip growing angrier at each word. "Never mind, Trip. I get it. Off limits. I'm sorry I told you. Please forgive me."

Trip was clutching the tool in his hand considering smashing it across Jon's face, then said "Look, I know you've had a thing for T'Pol for a long time now. Am I jealous? Hell yes I am! But you're right. Me and T'Pol are over. All I want is for her to be happy. I'd rather she be happy with someone else...hell I'd even settle for Malcom. But you? I mean what are your intentions? Just to get your rocks off and be done with her? No! I can't accept that!" "I don't know what my intentions are. All I know is I can't get her out of my head, out of my dreams! I love..."

Jon suddenly stopped as Trip's eyes got wide. "You_ love_ her? Damnit Jon. What kind of mess have you gotten yourself into here?" "I don't know. Right now, I wouldn't blame you if you kicked my ass." "The thought crossed my mind." The two stared at each other for what seemed to be an eternity then Trip let out a long, deep breath. "Look. If you want to pursue something with her, I can't stop you, but I will say this. T'Pol isn't the kind of woman that you just have fun with. If you hurt her in any way...and I mean_ any_ way, friend or not, cap'n or not...I'll kill you. I'm not joking. I_. WILL_. Kill. You."

Jon had known Trip for many years and as far as he knew, he had never actually murdered anyone, but knew that Trip was capable of it. "I don't intend to hurt her, Trip. I promise."

**Chapter 7**

A couple more days had passed and Jon made it a point to avoid T'Pol, avoid Trip but he still couldn't shake the thoughts of her from his mind. He fantasized about what had happened in her quarters and what the possibilities of these "more intense" pressure points might be.

It was late at night and he hadn't slept. He had been walking around the ship when he found himself standing in front of T'Pol's door. He wasn't sure how he got there, or why he was there but he knew he had an overwhelming urge to see her.

Without realizing he pressed the button to activate her door chime. As the door opened, she stood there in her flimsy pajamas, the top cut to expose her soft belly and the shorts showing off her silky legs, making him shake and breathe a little harder. She raised an eyebrow at him "Captain, is there something wrong?" "No. Uh. I don't know why I'm here. I'm sorry I bothered you. I'll just go." "Captain, come in. Please. I think we should talk."

He went in to her quarters and stood in the center of the room, trying to think of something to say. "That candle you were burning the other night. It smelled nice. I really liked it. Where can I get some?" "You don't really want to talk about candles, do you?" "No." "Trip told me what you said to him." "He did? I really wish he hadn't done that." "It wasn't difficult to figure out that it's been bothering you...what happened. You've been avoiding both Trip and myself for the past few days. Jon, Trip and I are over. Of course everything we've been through together, his sister, Koss, my mother, our baby...he'll always be special to me but, as Trip put it, we're better off being friends than lovers." "Did he tell you he threatened to kill me if I hurt you?" "No. He neglected to mention that. But you don't intend to hurt me...do you?" "No. Of course not! I just really don't know what's happening here. Hell! I'm not sure if this is real or just another one of my dreams."

Jon reached over and pinched his arm. It hurt. "Jon. I've been attracted to you since the beginning. I've kept my distance, as you have, because we both know that a captain getting involved with a crew member would be inappropriate. It could cause issues with other crew members. I think we're both mature enough to not let any issues happen, don't you?" "Yes. I suppose."

Before he knew it, T'Pol reached up and kissed him, deep and hard. His hands began rubbing and caressing her body, pulling her closer to him. They went to the floor in a deep passionate fever that they had both wanted for so long.

Jon gently pushed her away "T'Pol. We...we can't. We shouldn't." "Jon. Stop thinking about it. It's illogical for us to continue to fight this attraction we have for one another." "But, I don't know if I want a relationship or just something physical with you. I don't want you to get hurt. I don't want you to think there's a possibility of something that I'm not sure I'm ready to give to you." T'Pol looked deep into his green eyes then said. "Let's just have this night and see where it goes, ok?"

Against his better judgement he fell into the trace of what this night might hold for him. "T'Pol. One thing I can't shake. You said there were more intense pressure points. I'd like to find out what that is."

She had instructed him to take off all of his clothes and lay on his back. She had given him a small towel to cover himself with as she lit the scented candle. Kneeling down behind his head she started to rub his chest and slowly down to his stomach. She was now in a position that her stomach hovered above his face.

She placed her hands on either side of his hips and began pressing her thumbs into corresponding spots on his abdomen. As she pressed harder, he could feel his excitement swelling. She continued to press harder and the pressure was building, becoming more intense as she moved her thumbs in small circular motions. He began to let out small moans, which grew louder as the pressure intensified, he was writhing now and the intensity was increasing.

He reached up and pulled her stomach down into his face to muffle his screams, afraid someone passing by would think he was being tortured, and burst into the room to rescue him. As the intense pressure continued to build he started to scream into her stomach. "No! T'Pol! Stop! I-I can't! It's too much! Don't! Stop! I can't! T'Pol!"

She ignored his pleas and continued pressing harder on his abdomen causing his muscles to contort. His toes were curling and his back arching, he continued with his begs for mercy. "T'Pol! I'm going to c-!" He stopped himself from saying the word as it was a rude and vulgar word, besides, she would most likely think he meant c-o-m-e and he would have the embarrassing task of explaining the difference to her.

He continued with his pleas, holding her against his face as his fingers dug into her. "It's...It's too much! Oh God! Stop! I'm going to c-c-!" And before he thought his heart was going to explode, she let go of his abdomen. He could feel his eyes roll deep to the back of his head as his back arched even more. "Ah! Ah! Ahhhhh!" The release of his pressure was more intense and harder than anything he had ever felt in his life. As his muscles relaxed, and his back slowly returned to the floor, he pulled her down with him, placing small kisses on her stomach.

Once he got his breath back, he sat up, his head still swimming and the room spinning. He looked down then said the first thing that came to his mind. "I'm glad that towel was there, I'm sure I made one hell of a mess." "No you didn't. It was all in your mind." "What do you mean in my mind? Like hell I didn't cum!" He didn't mean for the word to slip out, but there it was and, as he suspected, she didn't understand and he didn't bother to explain it to her either.

He lifted the towel and she was right, there was very little evidence to show his pressure had been released, his member still fully erect. He was confused by this and needed an explanation. "If I wanted you to ejaculate, I would have pressed harder and longer, but I didn't want you to...not yet." "Not yet?" He could feel his body trembling thinking about what she might have been implying, looking deep into the pools of her dark eyes, he leaned over and gave her a passionate kiss.

Before he knew it, her pajamas were off and she was straddling him, rubbing her body against his. He laid back down, pulling her with him, pressing on her hips to urge her to grant him entrance into her warm sweetness.

Her body squirmed and teased against his adding more desire to his anticipation and excitement before plunging herself onto him. As he entered her warm, wet love the room started to spin again and he was convinced that this had to be a dream, but he didn't care, he wanted to feel her wrapped around him, her hands moving on his body, her hot passionate breath in his ear as her soft tongue lashed at the lobe.

He felt her nails digging into his chest urging him deeper into her. He wrapped his leg around one of hers and in a quick move he rolled them both so that he was now on top of her, driving himself further into her. He wondered if her pressure point trick would work on her and he placed his hands and thumbs on her mimicking what she had done to him earlier.

She seemed to sense what he was trying to do and moved his hands into the correct position, with her thumbs on top of his, she pushed hard letting out a gasp. "Ah! Ahh! She cried as her body began to arch under him, lunging him into her even further. She quickly placed her hands on him, accessing his pressure points. "Oh yes T'Pol! Yes! My sweet love!"

They pressed hard on each other causing them both to moan and writhe in their ecstasy. Her back arching more, driving him deeper, he could once again feel the pressure building to the thin line between pain and pleasure. He pressed his thumbs harder into her as she cried out. "Oh Jon! Yes! Yes!"

As they both reached their breaking points they simultaneously released their thumbs on one another and felt their explosions collide. As his pressure released in a small wave building into a tsunami Jon screamed out "Oh!...Fuck!...Yes!...God!...Yes!"

They both collapsed to the floor gasping for air. He didn't want to withdrawal himself from her, he didn't want to leave this sweet utopia she had created for him. T'Pol must have sensed his desire because she wrapped a leg around him urging him to stay.

After a few long moments, he rolled off of her still panting. His heart was pounding so hard against his chest, he could visibly see each beat. "That...was...incredible." He said between gasps of air. After they had both got their breath and strength back Jon sat up. "Don't tell me_ that_ was in my mind too." "No, Jon. Not this time."

He still wasn't sure if he was dreaming and he pinched his arm to be sure. _That hurt. It's real._ He thought. He pulled his knees up to him, burring his face in them as he let out a silent sob. T'Pol touched his shoulder and he jerked a little as she softly asked "Jon, what's wrong?" "I...I don't know. My head hurts with too much to process. I can't stop thinking how this is going to hurt Trip. I know, I know. The two of you are over, but still. He's my best friend! I shouldn't have come here tonight. I shouldn't have come here two nights ago. I should've thrown you off the ship the moment I realized..."

He looked deep into her eyes then continued. "The moment I realized I love you. I truly, deeply love you." "Oh Jon. I love you too. I know this sounds horrible, but even when Trip and I were together, I thought about you...thought about us...like this." "Y-you did?" "Yes. I wanted to mate with you for a long time."

Jon winced at the word 'mate' as T'Pol crinkled her eyebrows at him. "Trip would have the same reaction when I used the word 'mate'. What is it with you humans and that word?" "I don't know, T'Pol. It doesn't sound right to the human ear. I mean dogs _mate_. I guess it's the human superiority complex that we're better than animals." "So what word would you prefer?" "I don't know. Make love? Sex? Hell I'll even accept saying we fucked." "Fucked?" "Human vulgarity. Never mind."

He laid back down on the floor gently stroking her back. "Oh hell T'Pol. What are we going to do? We've really gotten ourselves into a mess here." "The only logical thing to do, Captain. When we're on duty, you're the captain, my commanding officer. Nothing more. What happens off duty is our business, no one else's."

He thought about this and he couldn't argue with her logic, as usual. "Sounds like a good plan to me." He said as he started grabbing for his clothes. "What are you doing?" T'Pol asked. "Uh. I'm pretty tired. I'm sure I'll have no problem sleeping tonight. I was going to go back to my quarters and go to bed." "No." She said flatly. Jon shocked by her command "Excuse me?" "No. You're not going back to your quarters. You'll sleep here." "You...you want me to spend the night?" "Isn't it obvious?" "Is that an order, commander?" Jon smiling as he said that. "If it has to be." "Well...ok. You're the boss." And they climbed in her bed together, snuggling in each other's arms as they fell asleep.

**Chapter 8**

It was oh four thirty as T'Pol looked out the door of her quarters into the corridor to make sure no one was walking by. She signaled to Jon that the coast was clear for him to slip out. As he stepped out of the room he stopped and turn to her. "See you on the bridge, darling." Taking her hand into his he softly kissed her hand.

Just as that happened, Trip had come around the corner, seeing the two of them together. "Son of a bitch!" Trip muttered to himself, then quickly retreating back down the corridor from where he came before either of them had spotted him.

The ship was still navigating around the black hole, taking scans. The probe they sent in a few days earlier had told them that there were deposits of uranium, dilithium, deuterium, and traces of other precious minerals just inside of the hole. Jon had asked Trip to modify another torpedo, making it capable of surviving longer, so he could see what other goodies the black hole might be hiding.

Trip entered the bridge and as he walked past Malcom towards his station, Malcom asked. "Do you think we'll get an explosion this time, commander?" Trip spun around and angrily looked at Malcom. "You want an explosion Reed? How about I put a torpedo in your bed and detonate it next to you! Would that be a good enough explosion for you?"

The entire bridge crew was shocked at Trip's outburst as Jon asked. "Trip? Is there a problem here?" "No _sir_. No problem. _Sir_." Trip replied in short clips. Jon figured Trip was still fuming over their conversation from a few days ago, but this was neither the time nor place to get into it with him.

Trip let out a big huff then said to Malcom. "I'm sorry. I'm having a bad morning. I shouldn't have taken it out on you like that." "It's ok, sir. We've all had our bad days." Malcom replied. Trip glared at Jon for a moment before taking his place at his station.

"Is the probe ready to launch, Trip?" Jon asked. "Yes sir. It's been ready since oh four thirty." It felt like a ton of bricks had dropped on Jon as he understood the significant meaning of the time. _Oh shit! He saw us!_ Jon thought as he glanced over at T'Pol. T'Pol's face also held a bit of shock that she was desperately try to suppress. Trying to focus on the task at hand, Jon ordered the launching of the new probe.

It was lunchtime when Jon walked into the crew mess. He spotted Trip walking towards a table with his tray of food and hurried over grabbing him by the arm. "We need to talk, commander. Now."

Jon ushered Trip into the adjacent captain's dining room where they would have some privacy. "Sit down, Trip." Jon said. "Is that an order, sir?" "YES IT'S A GODDAMN ORDER! _SIT_! Jon yelled at Trip.

Trip put his tray down hard on the table and sat. Jon sat down at the other end of the table and let out a sigh before saying. "Look Trip, first thing, this is just two guys talking here. No ranks. Whatever you got to say to me, let it loose, but obviously this is going to be a huge problem between us."

Trip flung his tray across the room, food splattering the wall. "You're Goddamn right this is a problem! How could you!? You're supposed to be my friend! How _could_ you!?" "Trip, you said it yourself. All you want is for T'Pol to be happy. You gave me permission to pursue something with her. Remember?" "Yeah. But I didn't think you'd actually _do_ it! You selfish bastard! I mean...how would you feel if I started dating, I don't know...Rebecca?"

Jon shook his head. "That's a poor analogy, Trip. Becky and I have been over for so long... Ok Trip. I get it. For you the wound is still fresh and here I am rubbing salt in it." "I'm sure that's not all you're rubbing." "HEY! I won't have you talking about T'Pol like that. Understand?"

Trip jumped up from his chair, knocking it over and started walking towards Jon in a menacing manor. Jon got up, prepared for what might be coming next as Trip yelled. "Or what? You wanna go? Let's go!" As they both prepared for the fight, the ship suddenly shuttered and the lights flickered as the warning alarm sounded. They looked at each other, wide-eyed and said in unison "The hole!" As they ran out of the room through the crew mess, Jon yelled. "All hands! Stations, NOW!"

Jon and Trip entered the bridge as sparks were flying and instrument panels exploding. Malcom yelled at Trip. "I said I wanted the torpedo to explode! Not us!" "Travis! Report!" Jon yelled. "I don't know how it happened sir." Travis replied. "We were far enough away, we shouldn't have got caught up in the hole's gravity pull." He turned to T'Pol for some sort of explanation. "The hole is expanding, Captain." Turning his attention back to Travis he asked. "Can you get us out?" Jon's voice full of concern. "I'm trying, sir. Nothing's working!"

More explosions and he heard T'Pol's voice screech. "Jon!" He turned in time to see a beam come down and hit T'Pol in the head, knocking her to the floor. He wanted to rush over to her, but he was torn between her and his duty to the ship.

His duty won out. "Travis! You got to get us out of here! NOW!" Trip suddenly yelled. "Travis! Pull the ship around parallel to the gravity pull then give her all she's got!" Travis did as Trip instructed and with a large jolt that knocked the crew off balance, they were free of the hole's gravity.

Now that the ship was safe, Jon rushed to T'Pol. As he knelt down beside her, he saw the large gash on her forehead and the green blood gushing from it. "Oh God T'Pol! No! Please love, don't be..." He placed his fingers on her neck, relieved to feel the thumping of her pulse. As quickly as he could, he scooped her up and headed for sickbay.

An hour later, Trip walked into sickbay. He looked through a space in the drawn curtain and saw T'Pol laying on the bio-bed with a large bandage on her forehead. Jon was sitting on a stool next to her, holding her hand in both of his, gently kissing her fingers as he softly said to her. "Please, sweetheart. Please wake up." He reached up with one hand, softly stroking her hair as he continued his begs. "Just wake up, my love. I need you to wake up."

Trip went through the curtains and softly cleared his throat. Jon looked up at him, tears streaming down his face as Trip quietly asked. "How is she?" "She's still unconscious. I don't know." He said as he wiped the tears from his face.

Trip walked over to the other side of the bed and gently kissed T'Pol's wound as he said. "You're going to be ok, honey. You're stronger than this." Trip turned his attention back to Jon to give him the grim information they had discovered. "The last probe we sent in. Apparently there was an explosion, we just didn't see it. It caused a surge in the expansion of the black hole. That's why we got caught in its gravity."

Jon dropped his head and whispered. "Oh God! This is my fault. All of this. My fault." Trip reached over and placed his hand on Jon's shoulder. "Hey. Don't start thinking like that. It's not your fault. None of us could've known this was going to happen. It's not your fault." "But I was the one who wanted to get readings of the inside. I was the one so egger to make a splash in the universal history books for humans." "No Jon. We all did. Not just you. All of us."

Just then they heard T'Pol softly moan and her eyes began to flutter. Jon urgently called for Phlox. "Doctor! She's waking up!" He stood and leaned over her as her eyes opened. In a daze she asked "Wh- what happened?" "You got hit in the head, love." Jon softly said to her.

She tried to sit up, but she was dizzy. Jon gently laid her back down. "Don't get up, darling. Just rest." Phlox started to take scans as T'Pol asked. "The ship? Out of danger?" "Yes. We're safe now. Don't worry yourself about that. Just rest." Jon said.

Jon looked at Phlox and asked. "Is...is she going to be ok?" "I'd like to keep her overnight for observation, but I'm sure she'll make a full recovery. She'll need a few days rest though." Phlox stated. Trip looked at Jon. "I'm going to go now. Let you two have some time together. Get better, T'Pol." And gave her a peck on the cheek.

Jon spent the next few hours at T'Pol's side before she drifted back to sleep. Before leaving sickbay, he gave Phlox strict instructions to call him immediately if anything changed or if T'Pol needed him.

**Chapter 9**

As he rounded the corner to his quarters he saw Trip lingering by his door. "Trip?" "Can we talk, Cap'n?" "Sure, come in." Jon was a little uneasy being alone with Trip, figuring that he might want to finish the fight they started earlier.

Trip sat on the couch and dropped his head into his hands. Looking up at Jon he began. "Look. I've been an asshole towards you. I'm sorry. I know I should be happy for the two of you..."

Jon sat on the couch next to Trip and let out a sigh. "No, Trip. It's me that's the asshole. I broke the friend code. I don't blame you for the way you reacted. But you need to understand. I love her. I really do love her, and I can't just stop loving her. I know this has probably destroyed our friendship, and I'm sorry for that. It's the last thing I wanted to happen."

Trip shook his head. "No. No. It hasn't destroyed our friendship. Look. I just need time to get adjusted to the idea of the two of you together. I mean, I knew T'Pol would eventually move on. Hell, deep down I pretty much figured she'd move on with you. The two of you are more compatible than I ever was with her. It's just seeing the two of you this morning...well I guess it just made it real for me. That we really are over. I just need time to get used to it, that's all." "Ok Trip. We'll just have to be more careful, especially around you. Give you the time you need to adjust."

Trip gave a small chuckle then said. "Hate to say it, Cap'n, but the way you were on the bridge, in sickbay...I'm pretty sure the cat's out of the bag on this one." "Yeah. I guess you're right about that. Trip, you really should find someone that you can move on with, yourself. What about that MACO girl you were seeing before T'Pol? What ever happened there?" Trip looked surprised. "Amanda!? No. The way I dropped her like a hot rock for T'Pol...she'd never give me another chance. Don't worry, I'm sure I'll find someone. Like the old saying, plenty of fish and all."

They sat for a moment when Trip said. "Just do me one favor." "I know, Trip, don't hurt her." "Ok. Two favors then." Jon eyed Trip for a second then asked. "What's that?" "When T'Pol eats you alive..._please_ let me be there to watch." "Thanks for the vote of confidence there, buddy." "No. I'm serious. T'Pol once told me part of the Pon farr ritual is when the female is done with her "mate" she eats him...you know...like a praying mantis!" "Shut the hell up, Trip!"

Jon reached around grabbing a throw pillow from the couch and smacked it in Trip's face as they laughed. Deep down, the two of them knew their friendship would survive. It would take a little time, but it would survive.

**Chapter 10**

A week had passed since the black hole, repairs to the ship were being done, and they had moved on from the hole and Jon was sitting in his quarters holding T'Pol in his arms, gently kissing the healing wound on her forehead. "I love you so much. Don't you ever scare me like that again." T'Pol looked up at Jon, cocking an eyebrow, she said "Considering the nature of our careers, it would be illogical for me to make that kind of promise...but I'll try."

Jon tilted his head sideways. "Did...did you just crack a joke?" "Who? Me? I would never do that. I am Vulcan after all." Jon laughed. "Uh-huh. Sure T'Pol, whatever you say. You're the boss." He looked into her eyes then stated. "I believe this is the start of a beautiful relationship." And gave her a passionate kiss.

The end.


End file.
